Page 4 of Grumpy

He recalled reading somewhere that the human mind couldn’t relive pain accurately. That a person could remember being in pain but not the pain itself. He had no idea if that was a myth, though he prayed to a god he didn’t believe in that it was true. If he survived, if he lived through whatever this was, Grumpy never wanted to feel this again.

Things flickered around him, encroaching on the blackness. Sounds faded in and out like a broken stereo. He couldn’t tell what was up or down, left or right. He didn’t even know if he was moving. There was only the pain, only the endless lick of fire. The nightmare of eternal torment and anguish.

Maybe he was wrong. Maybe there was a god, and this was hell.

Grumpy did not consider himself a bad person. He might not be the law-abiding citizen most thought him to be, but he considered himself a morally good person overall. Sometimes the laws of man were wrong, slow, or unjust. Perhaps this was Grumpy’s punishment for those wicked deeds. If so, whatever deity or cosmos was in charge really needed a reality check.

Then again, if this was his punishment for aiding his club as they disposed of rapists, human traffickers, and other evil men then he needed to accept that fate, because he had no regrets. He’d rather burn here than live with the knowledge that any of those men and women had gone free to terrorize more people.

Just when he thought he was experiencing the most pain he could endure, something pulsed through him. Like an electrical charge to his soul, Grumpy’s entire body jolted, sending new flares of pain through every nerve.

He didn’t remember opening his mouth to scream. He wasn’t even sure if he was breathing. All he knew was the pain.

* * *

Kelly Doyle had never been to war, and given the small glimpse into the chaos of the past day, she’d never been more grateful for that fact. Her respect for those in the armed forces, as well as all first responders, rose even higher. She could never do what they did. She was a small-town waitress, working the same job she had since she was sixteen years old. The fear, worry, and panic that had taken over her when she realized the bar she’d been heading towards had exploded had made her beyond useless. Others had run towards the fire and turmoil to help, while Kelly had just stood there frozen and gaping at the sight before her.

Useless.

Mr. and Mrs. Esker had been celebrating their sixty-fifth anniversary today, and even though her shift had ended, Kelly had stayed behind to be present when Mable Weiss brought in their celebration cake she’d made special for them. It was times like that that reminded Kelly exactly why she loved living in a small town. Many of her peers had left, dreaming of bigger lives in the cities. But Kelly loved Mount Grove. She rarely ventured outside its borders, not needing or wanting to.

Due to staying late to be present for the celebration, Kelly had not been able to run home and change, or shower or shave, as she’d been hoping to do before her date. Because Grumpy had finally asked her out.

She was thirty-eight years old, for God’s sake! She should be well beyond crushes and shy glances, and yet there was no one on this planet that affected her like Grumpy did. She wasn’t blind to the man’s quiet and gruff demeanor, but she also witnessed his silent kindnesses. Many people were kind because it got them recognition. They wanted that pat on the back, adding strings onto their so-called selfless act. Especially in this day and age when cameras and videos were everywhere, no one did anything without an audience.

Except for Grumpy.

Kelly had seen him pay for people’s meals and leave before the patrons saw who had paid. She’d seen him shoveling icy sidewalks outside of older residents’ businesses or fixing car problems without telling the customer they had more than one thing wrong with their vehicle. Hell, Kelly was very certain the only reason her beat-up 1986 Yugoslav still ran was because Grumpy did more than a standard oil change whenever she brought it in to him.

It was small, but Kelly tried to pay him back in little ways. Like sending business his way or discounting his food. She didn’t have much to offer, but she tried. Her mom made candles and soaps, and Kelly always bought fresh-baked bread or muffins from Mabel to add into a gift basket for her surly neighbor.

Like clockwork, he was in the diner nearly every day. He mostly ate alone, and regardless of the club’s claimed seating, was always in her section. Technically, Kelly was now the diner’s hostess. But she still waited on tables, helping out where she could. The other wait staff seemed grateful to Kelly when she took Grumpy’s table away from them. Did they think he was going to bite their heads off? Stupid kids. He’d be the first to help them if they were in need, and yet his quiet demeanor scared them off like mice.

Not having time to run home and shower, Kelly had used the employee bathroom to give herself a quick birdbath and pray Grumpy was one of those men who didn’t mind a little leg hair. Because Kelly was not missing this date for anything. Beyond that it had been nearly two years since she’d last slept with anyone, Kelly wanted to be with Grumpy. Wanted what Sophia and Pirate had, what Tally and Scar had. She wanted to belong to someone so completely that she was never a “me” again. She wanted to be an “us”. She wanted to be Grumpy’s ol’ lady.

The pickings in a small town were on the low side, but she wasn’t a virgin. She was just picky. She’d gone out with George Hunter before he’d gotten his promotion to fire captain, and that had been nice. But it wasn’t love. None of the men she’d dated was love. Kelly was starting to think that perhaps she was just destined to be single for the rest of her life when Grumpy walked into the diner for the first time.

How nearly ten years had passed between then and now, Kelly had no idea. But her silly crush had not diminished in the slightest.

What had changed? Why today?

A loud horn jerked Kelly from her frozen stupor. The bar. The bar had exploded. The bar she was supposed to be in right now if she hadn’t been running late. The bar where Grumpy was waiting for her.

Kelly ran. Clutching her purse at her shoulder, Kelly forced her way through bystanders and gawkers to the police line.

“Carl!” Kelly shouted at the deputy who was trying to keep everyone back. He caught her eye. Firetrucks and police cruisers were being used as barricades, along with yellow plastic Caution tape. The entirety of Main Street was cut off. A sea of men in yellow fire garb were trying to save those trapped in the brick building. “I need to get into that building! I need to get to Grumpy!” A hand on her shoulder tried to pull her away from the burning building as Carl’s mouth moved but no words came out. “No!” Kelly shouted at whoever was behind her. “I have to get inside! I have to save Grumpy!”

“Kelly.”

The voice was kind, but Kelly ignored it. If the firemen couldn’t reach Grumpy in time, she had to. He was inside waiting for her. What if he wouldn’t leave without knowing if she was there? What if he didn’t realize she’d been running late and thought she was buried under all that burning rubble? What if he⁠—

“Kelly!”

Jolting awake, the smell of smoke still resonating in her nose, Kelly nearly toppled out of the uncomfortable waiting chair. The cushion was so flat, it was practically nonexistent. Sophia stood over her, balancing two white coffee cups in one hand as she used the other to shake Kelly from her dream.

Or memory.

Something was going on with the club. Something beyond their club bar blowing up and one of their members being critically injured. Sophia, Harper, and Jasmine were around, but others weren’t. Ghost had been admitted for his own injuries, but immediately discharged himself against medical advice. Kelly didn’t know a lot about how the ins and outs of club life worked, but she’d picked up on a lot from her time serving them food over the past decade. First with Steel as their president and now with Ghost. What she hadn’t known was that the single members had given Power of Attorney—at least medical, maybe financial too—to their club president. Ghost was clearly worried about Grumpy and his condition, but he hadn’t hesitated to grant Kelly permission to sit with Grumpy. He even had Keys do something to her phone so she had all the club’s numbers in case she couldn’t reach Ghost and something was happening with Grumpy.